Kicking off at boot camp

A FITNESS instructor from Roberttown will put families through their paces with a family boot camp to raise money for the Leeds children’s heart unit threatened with closure.

Andrea Springthorpe, 33, of Fountain Drive, will raise money at the event this Sunday from 11am-2pm in Greenhead Park, Huddersfield.

The Children’s Heart Surgery Fund is currently fighting a decision to close the heart unit in Leeds after an NHS review.

Andrea, who was born with a hole in her heart, underwent open-heart surgery aged nine at the child cardiac unit, which was based at Killingbeck at the time. If surgery ends in Leeds, families from Yorkshire and the Humber region will be forced to travel to Newcastle or Liverpool and Andrea would be personally affected.

She said: “I have to have a check-up every four years at the Leeds unit. If the unit closes it will have a massive impact on children and families in the area.”

Andrea has mild leakage through her mitral valve but still leads an active life, having completed six marathons, raising money for Kirkwood Hospice and congenital heart condition charities. She also runs regular boot-camp training sessions – from fitness trainers Fit4Force – in Roberttown and Huddersfield.

On Sunday families will be put through their paces with a series of body-weight exercises. There will be a raffle, a ‘get your own back on the instructor’ event and Big G, the Huddersfield Giants mascot, will be on hand to lend support. Boot-camp starts at 11.30am. It costs £5 for adults, £3 for children and under sevens are free. Anyone wanting to attend can pre-register at www.fit4force.co.uk or register on the day by 11am.